It's Not Easy Dating Green
by dhauren
Summary: Bruce Banner isolates himself to protect others. But sometimes, that just isn't an option. Based on a Tumblr prompt for possessive Bruce. Bruce/Darcy


So someone on Tumblr was looking for possessive Bruce, and a few stories got written. My brain went in a slightly different direction. What if Bruce wasn't the possessive one? Bruce/Darcy (minor character from Thor, for anyone who doesn't know)

* * *

Darcy wanted to cry, or scream, or really throw a Hulk-sized tantrum. But Momma Lewis had raised her better than that. Instead, she simply stared at Bruce Banner, arms folded across her chest.

"I've been practically throwing myself at you for months, Bruce. You've already told me that you enjoy my company and you find my attractive. I don't see what the problem is."

He wouldn't meet her eyes, staring off to the side and down at the floor. "It's not safe to be around me, Darcy. It's bad enough that S.H.I.E.L.D has you working in the lab with me. I'm not going to spend even more time around you. The Other Guy could hurt you. Or…there are people out there who want to destroy me. They could use you to get to me. It puts a target on your back."

She snorted. "The target is already there, Bruce. I'm friends with Thor, remember? That puts an inter-realm target on my back. You don't get to use that as an excuse. If you were just talking out of your ass to boost the poor young girl's self-esteem, don't. I can take it."

He flinched. "You know that's not it, Darcy. I'm just…I'm not willing to risk your safety."

"That should be my decision to make."

He shook his head, still staring determinedly at the floor. "I can't let that happen."

She would not cry. She had her pride. "Is that your final decision? Are you sure you won't reconsider? We could be great together."

"I won't risk it," he repeated stubbornly.

"Fine. Then I guess I'll be calling that really cut guy I met at the coffee shop and telling him that I'm not involved after all."

He didn't react. "That would probably be the best idea."

She wanted to say something to the effect that he was ripping her heart out and stomping on it, but again, Momma Lewis hadn't raised her that way.

'You got your pride, girl,' she'd say. 'Sometimes, that's all you got. Don't give it up as easily as you'll give your virginity.'

It had seemed a funny comparison at the time, but given how teenage hormones influenced her decisions about her virginity, Darcy had elected to protect her pride. In order to do that now, she turned sharply on her heel and walked away from the scientist/Avenger/enormous green rage beast who had stolen her heart while she hadn't been looking.

She'd been worried at first, when briefed on Dr. Banner's 'condition' prior to adding him to the scientists she 'handled.' It's not every day that a girl is told that she'll be working with a man who could turn into an enormous green rage monster. That worry had very quickly faded in the first few days when she observed Bruce's almost painfully reserved nature. Coaxing him out of his shell, encouraged by a gleeful Tony Stark, had quickly become her top priority.

Darcy hadn't thought to protect her heart along the way, and Bruce had won it. But he didn't want it, so now she would retreat, strategically.

The first thing she did when she returned to her little scientist helper station in Jane's lab was to email her immediate S.H.I.E.L.D supervisor and request that Dr. Banner be removed from her duties, due to personal conflicts.

The second thing she did was to pull a crumpled napkin from her desk drawer, smooth it out, and dial the number on it to set up a date with Chad, the totally cut guy she'd met at the coffee shop yesterday. She'd invested enough time in pining after Dr. Bruce Banner. He'd made his sentiment clear, so it was time to move on. What better way to do that than with a hot hookup?

She pushed Chad, who sounded kinda like a douche over the phone, for a date this evening. She didn't care what he sounded like. All she'd hear would be a soft voice that somehow always sounded apologetic, and totally contrasted from his Hulk bellow anyhow. What she was interested in was what Chad could do for her.

And of course, Tony Stark would arrive at her desk as she was finishing her call. He was frowning, and looked completely serious for once.

"Fine, I'll see you at 8:00 at the coffee shop," Darcy finished, and disconnected the call. She glanced up at Stark. "What can I do for you, Mr. Stark?"

"What are you doing?" he asked. "What are you doing to Bruce?"

"What am I doing to Bruce? I'm leaving him alone, like he's asked me to, Tony. Moving on. Even I know when to bail when I'm not wanted." She was proud that her voice didn't crack.

Stark looked around furtively before sitting down on the corner of her desk. "You know that's not it, Darcy. Don't do this."

She raised her chin firmly. "I don't pine after men, Tony. I made my feeling clear, he declined to move any further." She angled a pointed stare at his backside, and then back up to his face. "Do you mind? I have work to do."

He finally hopped off the desk and walked away, muttering under his breath. Darcy ignored him.

She pulled out her long unused date clothes from the closest after she showered that night, and spent a little time on hair and makeup. It had been awhile since she'd gotten done up for a date. Tragic, really, considering her young age. But…meeting an alien god changes things.

She met the cut guy, Chad, at the coffee shop. He was impressive from a physical standpoint, obviously spending time in the gym. He was also, she realized after five minutes, very self absorbed. He talked about himself constantly, mostly about his stunning physique – how he'd gotten it, and how he maintained it.

After the second time through his workout routine (wait, maybe it was the night routine instead of the morning one) Darcy realized that the evening wasn't going to work out the way she'd hoped, and the giant lump inside her throat threatened to break free and cause tears. She would _not_ cry in front of this douchebag, but she really wanted to taser his carefully refined glutes. Right now the only thing that was saving him was the paperwork. As a S.H.I.E.L.D employee, she was required to fill out three forms when she tasered a civilian.

But oh how she wanted to do it.

The first screams actually didn't register to her. This was New York, after all, and screams, shouts, and gunshots (or backfiring cars) were a soundtrack. Her date (she cringed internally just thinking of him that way) perked up when other patrons in the coffee shop began to scream as well. Then his eyes, looking over her shoulder at his reflection in the window, grew very wide, and his mouth dropped open. People started running past their table, and Darcy squeezed her eyes shut. Yeah. The only way this day could get worse was a super villain or monster attack _right where she was_, and from the screams she was betting on the monster.

A burning need to see what was probably going to give her the worst ending to the worst day ever had her turning in her seat to stare out the window. It was dark outside, due to a few broken streetlights, and at first, all she could see was a massive dark shape. Then it took a few steps forward, and Darcy just snapped.

"NO!" she shouted, jumping to her feet. "There is no way that this is my life!"

Her 'date' had already knocked over his chair and run for coffee bar to hide. Probably a good idea given the reason she suspected that this particular monster had arrived.

Darcy slung her bag around her neck and stormed out the door. She rounded the corner of the shop into the stretch of darkness, and stopped, hands on her hips, head titled up.

"What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing. Here?" she hissed, biting off every word.

Hulk managed to appear sheepish, ducking his head and shuffling backward a step in the face of her fury. Darcy didn't even care. She followed right after him, one hand coming up to shake a finger at him.

"You do not get to ruin my date! You don't! I cannot take this anymore, Bruce! You made yourself quite clear. I get it, okay? But that doesn't mean you can scare off anyone I want to date. So take your green ass out of here and leave me alone."

She'd told Bruce multiple times that Hulk would never hurt her. They'd bumped into each other many times, and the green guy recognized her and seemed to really like her. Darcy hadn't worried about danger from Hulk after that, even though she'd watched the destruction and sheer fury he could turn on others.

Right now, one would not know he had been born of Bruce Banner's unfettered rage. Hulk was digging a toe into the sidewalk, staring resolutely at the ground. That was so annoying that Darcy took another step forward.

"Look at me when I'm yelling at you," she snapped. "Do you know how annoying that is? God, it's a wonder you even know what I look like, for all the time you spend staring past me, or at the floor." Her breath hitched in her throat. "Why, Bruce? Why are you here?"

He looked up at her, and she could see Bruce in his eyes. She could see the pain on his face as he looked at her, and the tears started to threaten again. No. She was done crying over Bruce Banner.

Then, the really cut douchebag she'd been sitting with came creeping around the corner of the shop, determined not to look like a coward in front of other people. "Stacy?" he called. Darcy hadn't bothered to correct him after the third time he'd called her that, because she just didn't care.

Hulk snarled and took a step toward Darcy. Now she saw the rage, directed at the sculpted douchebag behind her. She waved her hands in the air to bring Hulk's attention back to her.

"You're not allowed to kill my date, either. No killing, no scaring, no SAY in my life, because you've chosen not to have one."

"Stacy, you know this monster? That's kinda cool."

"Chad. If you want to live, you'll leave and forget you ever met me."

Hulk snarled again, reaching out to squeeze the life from one of the darkened light poles. It screeched in protest, and died with a loud pop. The top half of the pole crashed to the ground, very close to the douchebag, judging by the faint curse. His footsteps beat a hasty retreat, and Darcy heaved a sigh.

Both hands back on her hips, she frowned up at her green bodyguard. "Go away, Bruce. Just leave me alone."

She pivoted then and walked away. She should be calling a special number to have a team come subdue Hulk and take him into custody, but she couldn't bear doing that to Bruce. The necessity of it humiliated him. Instead, she just walked away, heading for the nearest subway entrance.

She had to stop after half a block, and the thudding footfalls behind her paused as well. He was close enough for her to feel the puff of his breath on the back of her neck. They both ignored the cries from the street as people in their cars caught sight of the monster. Strangely enough, the sidewalk was clear of people. Imagine that.

"Bruce please." Now her voice did crack, and tears welled up in her eyes. Darcy didn't turn to look at him. "Please just go."

He didn't like it that she didn't use the Hulk name, but it was a little ridiculous to her. They were one and the same, no matter how badly Bruce wanted to deny that. Darcy wouldn't play that game with him and his bigger, angrier, green self. They were Bruce to her.

The softest of touches on her hair nearly undid her resolve. Hulk was petting her head. Why? What did he want?

"Tony told you, didn't he? Where I would be. Asshole. I'm done with this, Bruce. I was done with it this afternoon."

Her hair was petted again. The touch was far more gentle than she'd thought he was capable of in his rage form. Darcy trembled, and damned him to hell for the tears that were escaping her eyes.

"Darcy?"

She looked up and spotted Captain America coming toward them. He was geared up and ready to go, shield held lightly, ready to be thrown if necessary. Either Tony had sent him, or he'd followed Hulk. Judging from the light sheen of sweat on his face, he'd followed Hulk from the Tower.

"I'm fine, Cap," she assured. "Just…take Bruce back to the Tower, okay?"

It wasn't okay to Bruce, apparently, because when the captain moved toward them, Hulk snarled warningly. He placed a large green hand on Darcy's shoulder, and she could feel his glare arrowing over her shoulder.

Cap held his hands up to placate his teammate. "It's all right Bruce. I'm just here to take you back to the Tower."

"Mine," the rough voice whispered behind Darcy's head. "Mine."

Darcy whirled to confront him. "Yours? Are you kidding? You just finished telling me this afternoon that you didn't want anything from me, remember? I am not playing this game with you, Bruce."

He looked incredibly sad, and reached out to pet her hair again, but Darcy batted his hand away, ignoring Cap's strangled yelp. "No. If you're here because you changed your mind, then you need to take a stand right now." She poked him in the chest. "If not, then go away, Bruce."

He huffed softly, and then began to shrink. Normally Darcy would reach out to support him, but not this time. She watched as he collapsed back into his smaller self and fell to his knees, clutching the remains of his pants. Her stance didn't alter.

Bruce looked up at her, face creased. "I'm an idiot," he said quietly.

Darcy didn't budge. "I had already figured that one out, Bruce. For a really smart guy, you're pretty dumb." She was proud that her voice didn't waver.

"I can't understand why you feel the way you do, Darcy. I'm no prize." He looked back down at the ground. "But I know now that I won't be able to stand back and watch you with other men. I…will you…can we try today's conversation again?"

She swallowed hard, and reached down to cup his chin and pull his eyes up to look at her. "Eyes up here, Bruce. Geez. Normally when I say that, it's because someone can't look at anything but my chest. With you, it's because you just won't look at me. Gives me a complex, you know?" She cupped his cheek. "Dr. Banner – I really, hopelessly, like you. I kinda think you have some feelings for me. Can we try dating?"

He leaned into her hand, soft eyes focused on her. "Ms. Lewis, I'm scared of getting close to people. But I think dating is a good place to start. Have…have dinner with me. Out, in public. Please…don't date the gym whore you were having coffee with."

It startled her into a laugh, to hear that statement coming from Bruce Banner's mouth. "He's a douchebag," she assured, trying to fight back the tears that still wanted to pour down her cheeks. "I'm not gonna date him. I will, however, go out to dinner with you."

Cap was there suddenly with a blanket. Bruce stood shakily with his assistance, and wrapped the blanket around his mostly naked form. Darcy slid under his right arm and wrapped her arms around him to give him support. Bruce reached out with a shaky finger and caught the few tears that were making tracks down her cheek. "I'm sorry," he said softly as Cap withdrew a little, making a report to someone.

Darcy sniffed. "Make me cry again in any way other than a good way, and you will be," she warned.

"Tasering me would probably be a bad idea," he pointed out.

She leaned into him. "There are many ways other than a taser to make you sorry."

Bruce's eyebrows popped up, and then a slow smile crossed his face. "Good point. Dinner tomorrow night?"

Darcy wanted to seal the deal, but he wasn't really dressed for a date. "Okay. No excuses. I don't care if there's an alien invasion. I'm still getting my dinner."

"I can make sure that happens," he soothed.

"Dr. Banner? Miss Lewis?" the captain called. "S.H.I.E.L.D is sending a pick up team. They'll be here in five." He ducked his head. "Agent Hill would like to debrief you then."

Darcy blinked at him, and then flashed a saucy smile. "I'm sure she would, Cap, but I'm 100% hetero, and I won't share Bruce. No debriefing."

It was worth it to hear the choked sound from both men's throats.


End file.
